Chapter 64: Rushing to the core? My heroes rise together!

Leaving the Starfall Mystical Palace, Lin Xuan did not immediately rush to the core of the Mystical Realm at full speed. He first found a quiet place and took out the newly acquired Star Core and the Nether Soul-Suppressing Order together.

The two floated in front of him, one with starlight circulating, vast and pure; the other with deep Nether light, suppressing ten thousand souls. Under the harmonization of chaotic spiritual power, wisps of starlight and Nether aura intertwined and resonated, and the cracks between them seemed to have healed slightly in this resonance, almost imperceptibly.

He attempted to trigger that wisp of "Star-Nether Light" according to the method analyzed by the system.

With a thought, the Chaos Soul Formation pinched an incantation, and a wisp of grey chaotic origin power served as a bridge, simultaneously connecting the star power of the Star Core and the Nether aura of the Soul-Suppressing Order.

Swish!

A light band about a foot long appeared from his fingertips. This light band was very strange; the main body was a grey chaotic color, but inside it seemed to have countless fine starlight flickering, and deeper down flowed a deep darkness that was soothing to the soul. Around the light band, space twisted slightly, and the aura it emitted was neither pure destruction nor simple sealing, but a rhyme closer to "order reconstruction" and "ten thousand laws returning to the origin."

Lin Xuan could feel that this "Star-Nether Light" was extremely powerful, having a very strong restraining and purifying effect on evil spirits, monsters, and remnant souls, and also having a good interference and disintegration ability for arrays and sealing barriers. But the consumption was equally huge; with his current early Soul Formation cultivation, he probably couldn't use it many times at full power.

"Another trump card." Lin Xuan was satisfied and put the two away. The harvest from this trip far exceeded expectations; not only did he break through to the Soul Formation stage, but he also obtained key items and powerful means.

He adjusted his breath for a moment, restoring his state to its peak, and only then set off toward the very center of the Mystical Realm—the Heavenly Mandate Hall area.

The closer he got to the core, the more dense and pure the spiritual energy in the air became, even beginning to mix with wisps of faint innate energy. But correspondingly, space became more stable, the suppression became stronger, and the consumption of flight increased greatly. At the same time, he encountered more and more cultivators, generally at the late Golden Core stage or above, and Soul Formation cultivators were also common.

Most of these cultivators were in a hurry, either driving their own escape light or in groups of three or five, keeping a vigilant distance from each other. Everyone's goal seemed to point in the same direction.

Lin Xuan still maintained his "Jin Shisan" disguise, controlling his aura at the early Soul Formation stage, and he was not particularly conspicuous among the crowd. But he keenly sensed that several powerful spiritual senses would sweep over this area from time to time, seemingly searching for something.

"Are they looking for me? Or do they have other intentions?" Lin Xuan sneered in his heart, his destiny-shielding function quietly operating, making him like a drop of water entering the sea. When those spiritual senses swept over, they only paused slightly before moving away, failing to lock onto him.

Several days later, the terrain ahead changed again. It was no longer a wasteland or mountain range, but a square paved with countless massive white jade slabs that stretched as far as the eye could see! At the end of the square, amidst clouds and mist, one could vaguely see the outline of a continuous, magnificent palace complex—that was the Heavenly Mandate Hall!

Just by looking from afar, one could feel the supreme majesty that suppressed the ages and governed destiny!

And at this moment, on this massive white jade square, thousands of cultivators had already gathered! Heads were moving, spiritual light was shining, and powerful auras surged into the sky, colliding and intertwining, forming a repressive atmosphere of a storm about to arrive.

On the edge of the square stood several jade walls as high as a hundred zhang. Spiritual light flickered on the jade walls, and they actually seemed like living things, displaying some information in real-time:

【Soul-Condensing Creation Dew will appear in the "Ten Thousand Laws Source Pool" in seven days.】

【Current number of Soul Formation cultivators arriving at the core area: 127.】

【Known holders of the "Huangfu Tianji Guide": 9.】

This information undoubtedly ignited the flames in everyone's hearts! The exact time and location of the Soul-Condensing Creation Dew! The number of competitors! And the mysterious holders of the Huangfu Tianji Guide!

Lin Xuan's gaze swept over the jade wall, and he understood. The Huangfu Tianji Pavilion had indeed spread the news; they wanted to drag everyone into this scramble so they could profit from it, or... observe?

He mixed into the crowd, observing his surroundings calmly.

Soon, he saw several "acquaintances."

In the northeast corner of the square, an area had been cleared. Ye Chen sat cross-legged alone on a blue stone, closing his eyes to rest. His aura was becoming more and more condensed, with thunder light contained within, clearly his cultivation had improved again. Seeming to sense a gaze, he opened his eyes and looked in Lin Xuan's direction, his gaze as sharp as a sword, carrying a hint of inquiry, but he did not recognize the disguised Lin Xuan, and then closed his eyes again.

In the northwest direction, the Third Imperial Prince Li Daoyi, wearing a bright yellow python robe, was surrounded by a dozen powerful attendants, his expression arrogant, chatting and laughing with children of the protector families, but his gaze swept toward the jade wall displaying the Soul-Condensing Creation Dew information from time to time.

Saintess Yun Yao of the Floating Snow Palace still had her face covered with a white veil, cold as snow, standing alone in a corner, as if an invisible low-temperature domain had formed around her, and no one dared to approach.

Besides these top geniuses of the imperial capital, Lin Xuan also saw the remnants of the Youming Sect he had fought before; Elder You Liang and others were hiding in the crowd, their eyes sinister. He also saw the three Soul Formation cultivators from the Starfall Pavilion, who were meeting with several other cultivators wearing similar star-patterned Daoist robes, seemingly elders from their Pavilion.

What caught his attention even more were several figures with exceptionally powerful auras he had not seen before.

A white-clothed youth carrying an ancient sword with a cold expression stood alone on a broken pillar, sword qi surging around his body, actually causing subtle sword humming in the surrounding space. His cultivation was shockingly at the mid-stage Soul Formation!

A woman wearing seven-colored rosy clothes, with a beautiful face but carrying a wild aura, stood barefoot on a cloud, curiously looking at the people on the square. Her aura was unfathomable, actually making even Lin Xuan feel a hint of pressure.

A chubby, smiling middle-aged cultivator wearing a wealthy merchant's outfit, constantly fiddling with a gold abacus in his hand, seemed harmless, but Lin Xuan's "Eye of Truth-Breaking" could see a layer of thick golden light of merit and wealth fortune enveloping his body, clearly extraordinary.

These were probably the "Children of Destiny" or powerful competitors from other regions or hidden sects that Envoy Yin Si had mentioned.

"Truly a gathering of heroes, dragons and snakes mixed..." Lin Xuan thought to himself, pressure and excitement coexisting. Only by contending with these true geniuses could he sharpen himself faster!

He also noticed several people holding the "Huangfu Tianji Guide." Besides himself, Ye Chen had a similar white token hanging from his waist, the woman in seven-colored rosy clothes also had one tied to her wrist, and the chubby cultivator fiddling with the abacus also had a small Huangfu Tianji Guide embedded in a corner of his gold abacus.

"Nine Huangfu Tianji Guides, I've seen four already..." Lin Xuan silently noted.

Just as he was observing, the Huangfu Tianji Guide token in his bosom suddenly became slightly hot, transmitting a clear guidance, pointing to an inconspicuous corner on the edge of the square covered by faint clouds and mist.

The Huangfu Tianji Pavilion's reception point?

Lin Xuan pondered for a moment and decided to go and see. He wanted to see what the Huangfu Tianji Pavilion was up to.

He detached himself from the crowd calmly and walked toward the place covered by clouds and mist. The closer he got, the more the surrounding noise seemed to be isolated, becoming abnormally quiet.

Passing through a thin layer of clouds and mist that had no obstruction, the scene before his eyes changed. He was still on the white jade square, but in front of him, there was a small pavilion built of green bamboo. In the pavilion, there was a stone table and two stone stools.

On one of the stone stools sat a person, who was none other than the Huangfu Tianji Pavilion messenger he had seen before—Envoy Yin Si.

He was still enveloped in the wide silver cloak, as if he had never left.

"You're here." Envoy Yin Si raised his head, his eyes flashing with data light looking at Lin Xuan. "Sit."

Lin Xuan walked into the pavilion calmly and sat down opposite him. He discovered that looking out from the pavilion, the crowd on the square was still clearly visible, but the outside world seemed completely unable to perceive the existence of this pavilion.

"Messenger Envoy Yin Si is waiting here, could it be that the time for the transaction has arrived?" Lin Xuan asked directly.

"The timing is still early, but I can give you some hints in advance." Envoy Yin Si's voice had no ripples. "The scramble for the Soul-Condensing Creation Dew is not a simple competition of strength. The Ten Thousand Laws Source Pool is a world of its own, with mysteries inside. First, the Source Pool has spirit and will repel those who harbor evil thoughts and are entangled in karma. Second, the test in the pool is not just combat power, but more importantly, heart, comprehension, and even... destiny."

He paused, his cold eyes seeming to be able to see through Lin Xuan's disguise and look directly at his origin.

"Your Chaos Dao, inclusive of all things, is originally one of the most suitable physiques for obtaining the Creation Dew. But your existence itself is a variable, which will trigger more unpredictable tributaries of fate. In this scramble, your opponents are far more than just these people on the square."

"What do you mean?" Lin Xuan's gaze narrowed.

"It means..." Envoy Yin Si said slowly, "there will be 'unexpected' existences intervening. Perhaps, some of your 'old friends'."

Old friends? Lin Xuan's thoughts turned rapidly. Did he mean the Youming Sect? The Zhao Clan? Or...

Without waiting for him to think further, Envoy Yin Si continued: "This hint is considered the 'sincerity' paid in advance. After you obtain the Soul-Condensing Creation Dew, or... when you need to make a key choice, we will talk about the real transaction."

After speaking, Envoy Yin Si's figure slowly dissipated like a phantom again, along with the green bamboo pavilion, which also hid itself.

Lin Xuan found himself still standing on the edge of the square, as if everything just now was an illusion. But he knew it wasn't.

"Repelling evil thoughts and karma... testing heart, comprehension, and destiny... unexpected old friends..." Lin Xuan savored Envoy Yin Si's words, his eyes becoming deeper and deeper.

This Huangfu Tianji Pavilion seemed to be truly able to glimpse part of the heavenly secrets. What exactly did they want to get from him?

He suppressed his distracting thoughts and cast his gaze toward the Heavenly Mandate Hall deep in the clouds and mist again.

Regardless, he was determined to get the Soul-Condensing Creation Dew!

Seven days later, the Ten Thousand Laws Source Pool would surely be full of wind and clouds!

(Chapter 64 End) ===== CHAPTER 65 =====